WORLD CHAMPIONS France and Germany took advantage of the influence of their Chelsea stars to win in the League of Nations on Saturday, while Spaniard Sergio Ramos missed two consequences on the night he held a record 177 foreign matches.
Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante scored only his moment abroad when France beat European champion Portugal 1-0 in Lisbon to secure a League of Nations position next year.
Kante was the fastest to react to a rebound by scoring the winner in the 53rd minute who secured first place for France in his group.
France leads Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal through 3 problems before Tuesday’s clash with Sweden in Paris, but relies on first place thanks to his head record.
Kante’s English Premier League teammate Timo Werner scored two goals on his return to Leipzig for Germany to beat Ukraine 3–1.
Werner spent four years in Leipzig before moving to London this summer and has thrived in a family setting at the Red Bull Arena despite the absence of fans.
The victory leaves Germany undefeated in their last 12 matches and leads their group, one point ahead of second seed Spain, to face off in Seville on Tuesday.
Ukraine temporarily took the lead when Roman Yaremchuk stood firm with the German defence nap.
The hosts responded with 3 unanswered goals from Leroy Sane and Werner, who scored either time, to seal a well-deserved victory.
In Béle, Ramos missed two consequences, as Spain needed an expired draw from Gerard Moreno to tie 1-1 with Switzerland.
Ramos made his 177th appearance to break the record for the appearance of a European player, beating Italian Gianluigi Buffon with 176.
But it was a night for the defender, who saw a ball play standing through Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer, but held on to score a second, only to fail with a terrible attempt at “Panenka”.
Ramos had already scored 25 consequences in a row and his inaccuracy on the ground burdens Spain, which will now have to beat Germany to succeed in the final.
Remo Freuler gave the Swiss a head start in the 26th minute, but Nico Elvedi was expelled for awarding the penalty for the moment with 11 minutes to play.
Spain nevertheless discovered a purpose of equaling in the 89th minute when Moreno capitalized on a fatigued Swiss defense by converting a Sergio Reguilon center.
– Covid-19 Shadow –
After wasting his first four League of Nations matches, Sweden nevertheless discovered form in Solna, surpassing world time, Croatia 2-1.
The Swedes, whose coach Janne Andersson left for the coronavirus, led 2-0 in halftime.
Juventus star Dejan Kulusevski opened his account in the 36th minute when the 20-year-old controlled a Mikael Lustig long pass before scoring.
Defender Marcus Danielson, who plays for his club in China with the Dalian Pro, took the lead at the moment of a corner kick in the first half.
Danielson was unlucky enough to mark his own purpose 8 minutes from the end after playing with a headbutt by Ivan Perisic.
Croatia had beaten the Swedes 2-1 in their first match, but they arrived for the return without midfielder Marcelo Brozovic and defender Domagoj Vida, both tested for Covid-19.
The coronavirus pandemic also saw UEFA cancel Sunday’s adjustment between Romania and Norway after the Norwegian government banned the team from travelling to Bucharest due to a case of Covid-19.
“The adjustment is played,” UEFA said on its League of Nations website.
A league
Group 3
Sweden 2 (Kulusevski 36, Danielson forty-five 2) Croatia 1 (Danielson 82-og)
Portugal 0 France 1 (Kante 53)
Group 4
Switzerland 1 (Freuler 26) Spain 1 (Gerard Moreno 89)
Germany (Sane 2, WernerArray 64) Ukraine 1 (Yaremchuk 12)
League C
Group 1
Cyprus 2 (Kastanos 34-pen, 71) Luxembourg 1 (Kousoulos 5-og)
Azerbaijan 0 Montenegro 0
League D
Group 1
Malta 3 (Emili García 56-og, Degabriele 59, Dimech 3) Andorra 1 (Rebes 3)
Latvia 1 (Kamess 59) Faroe Islands 1 (G Vatnhamar 60)
Group 2
San Marino 0 Gibraltar 0
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